Materials for 2018 National Week for Life and the Family
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
The National Week for Life and the Family will be celebrated across Canada, 13 to 20 May 2018, that is, from the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord to Pentecost Sunday. Ascension Sunday this year also coincides with Mother’s Day. For the sixth consecutive year, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) is offering dioceses/eparchies, parishes as well as Catholic organizations and associations possible resources and options for planning and organizing local activities. The theme for the 2018 National Week is “Love: Encountering the Other”. The resources have been prepared by the Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF), working in collaboration and consultation with the CCCB. These are available online, and may be freely downloaded and reproduced by dioceses/eparchies, parishes and other non-profit groups.
The materials include a poster; a prayer card; a prayer card for children before meals; a proposed plan for pastors and lay pastoral workers on how they might organize the Week; a message from the CCCB President, the Most Reverend Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., Bishop of Saint-Jean-Longueuil; proposals for homily notes and Prayers of the Faithful; and suggestions for related events and activities. Each diocese/eparchy decides how to adapt or use the suggested annual resources, in view of its own specific pastoral priorities, needs, and capacities.
The dates of the National Week are determined primarily by the United Nations 1993 resolution which declared 15 May the International Day of Families. In turn, the International Day is used to establish the dates for Quebec Family Week (Semaine québécoise des familles).